Of those Darker things in the shadow (IC)

[GuyFawkes]

Jessiah

The tiefling stares at the glass offered by Cognette as his ears focus on the conversation around him. Truly it does not surprise him how money can change the attitudes of people so quickly. He sits there quietly, and takes the glass, pulling it closer to him. He looks at it and plays with its content for a while, before deciding to drink it. But as he brings up the glass to his mouth, he notices Gillivane entering the tavern door, and he puts the glass back down.

[Mystral]

Gillivane

Gillivane confidently strides into the room and towards her comrades. Good, all seemed to be here. As she reaches their table, she adresses them with a rather low, but audible voice. "Good News, everyone. Although that elf city is many, many leagues away, I have found a possible way to reach it in time. It will include doing a powefull mage a favor, and.. Why is there a puddle at your feet, Peacekeeper?"

[OMG PONIES]

Peacekeeper

"So, so... Peacekeeper? How long has it been since you were created... uh crafted?" Cognette giggled. "If ya tell us your life's story I'll try to find out how you can get drunk."

Without hesitating, the warforged replies "Peacekeeper was forged four years, six months, thirteen days, nine hours, and twenty-two minutes ago. Since that time, the unit has been tasked with the eradication of evil. The end." Peacekeeper smiles, having told a proper story over a round of drinks, complete with the bards' signature ending.

"Good News, everyone. Although that elf city is many, many leagues away, I have found a possible way to reach it in time. It will include doing a powefull mage a favor, and.. Why is there a puddle at your feet, Peacekeeper?"

Peacekeeper turns to address the mage matter-of-factly. "Liquid spilled at Peacekeeper's feet which has yet to evaporate or be absorbed. This is the cause of the puddle in question."

[Mystral]

Gillivane sighs and thinks for a moment. Why were they adventuring with this thing again? Oh, right, it hit like a battering ram, and could take one to the face. "I presume there is a reason why the Liquid, which smells like beer, has been spilt in the first place. Please elaborate on the process at whiches end the liquid reach it's current location.

[OMG PONIES]

Peacekeeper

The warforged tweaks its faceplate even further--perhaps this was one of the "drinking stories" the softies often shared? "Ah yes," it chimed. "Cognette tossed Peacekeeper a lovely bottle of grog, which Peacekeeper proceeded to open and consume."

[GuyFawkes]

Jessiah

Jesse perks up at the notion of leaving soon, however that small that shows on his face. He cannot wait to move; every day he spends on one place spells increasing chance of disaster. For him, and especially for the village.

"So who is this powerful mage? And when do we leave?" he cuts in in a rather quick manner.

[Mystral]

Gillivane nods at Peacekeepers attempts of humanity and gives a short smile. "The next time you consume a drink, I would advise that you put a bucket under your chin, so not to spill to much of it.

The powerfull mage is one Jureln Blackwood, a generalist halfling woman and the aunt of a mage I met a while ago. She is one of the thirteen rulers of this empire, so I assume that whatever she requests of us will be something important in itself. As such, I would suggest that we begin our travel as soon as possible, although I will be able to greatly speed our progress come tomorrow morning."

[Mellhurst]

"I like that story Peacekeeper, it was consiss... concise and effective."
Listening attentively to Silverstaff Cognette nodded, ignoring the slight against the barley wine.
"Um, ca-can't you take us there yourself, Ma'am? It's best to avoid debts, like people like this? End of the sea is far but easy. Too many jumps?" Vilac looked at her a bit apologetically.

[Mystral]

"I am afraid that while I could certainly summon up the neccessary magic to travel such a distance, I am not familiar enough with the waypoints, or the target itself. Not even a good description of the place would be enough to bring us there. I don't think we will be indepted, though. Most likely, we will have something to accomplish before we are sent on our way, so to speak. If the terms are not to our liking, we can look for a different way of transportation, or we can look for a different occupation entirely."

[GuyFawkes]

Jessiah

Upon hearing the details, Jessiah stands up and makes his way for the stairs. "...Send for me when are to leave," he calls out before he takes his first step up.

Upstairs he settles down on his bed. He is not sleepy, but he lies down on his bed nonetheless and closes his eyes. Maybe he is just wanting time to go faster until they leave. Being on the road is safer. For everyone.

[Mellhurst]

"All righty." Cognette looks over everyone with a bit of a bow, makes her way over to the barcounter to leave twenty gold and get a drink of water, then makes her way back to her room later at night.

[Mystral]

Gillivane gives a little sigh as the others excuse themselves from the conversation. Oh well... She turns to Piecemaker, erm, Peacekeeper. "Allow me to explain to you the concept of drinking, my Friend. Let us sit." she offers and heads for a mostly cleaning looking bench, ordering herself a grog herself. Only for explanatory purposes, of course, and my, did that talk with that halfling woman make her thirsty.

[OMG PONIES]

Peacekeeper

The warforged nods. "Yes," it says, "Peacekeeper would like that."

[Mystral]

Gillivane

Sitting down on the Bench, Gillivane takes the Grog points down at it. A warforged was, in most regards, very similiar to a golem. They had a limited capacity for free thought and creativity, but to get informations into their skulls, bluntness and simple information was key. "People, or as you call them, softies, are beings made out of flesh. They are powered not by magical energies, but by alchemical processes. To feed those alchemical processes, they imbide food and drink, solid and liquid food. A person can sustain himself on a diet of rather bland things, although he has to eat a variety of things, as not all food and drink has every alchemical substance the body needs. For example, without fresh fruit or vegetables, like on a long sea voyage, the sailors suffer from scurvy, as they lack on of the alchemical ingedrients only present in the aformentioned goods. Now, as you lack the need for these alchemical substances, you also lack the means to process them. As such, you can not imbide drink. Things like grog, by the way, are not consumed for their nutritious value, but because they contain alchemical substances that alter the way the human body works. Most people experience, after a dosage that is high enough, a slightly confused, but happy feeling that is called drunkenness.

If you really want to consume something similiar, I am sure magical crystals that would make you feel in the desired manner can be constructed, perhaps on the basis of illusion magic."

[BelGareth]

The night goes by uneventful, Peacekeeper having learned how to properly imbibe (or not as the case may be) grog and a lesson on how softies work.

Everyone sleeps soundly, except those who need none, again peacekeeper.

The Hin community wakes up slow but it roars into life like a lion hasted to the butchers.

You go about readying your spells for the day and have just finished stretching and exercising, oiling armor or weapons and you are all ready to go.

Spoiler

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Left it as I know you wanted to prepare specific spells, plus I like to RP teleport spells :)

[GuyFawkes]

Jessiah

Jessiah is up before the rays of the great orb of fire in the sky has set upon the still silent village. He does his usual routine in the mornings that he has developed in the few weeks: a light jog around the town's streets, then he goes back to the room and starts his maintenance on his gear and his weapons. When the sun would start to peek out of the horizon, he is done, and he can be seen at his usual spot by the window, staring outside. When the others would be up, he would go down, this time packed with all his belongings, and eat his meal and wait for them downstairs.

[Mystral]

When everyone has eaten their breakfast, Gillivane tells them to gather around her and touch her shoulders. Then, she speaks a magic word, and they all disappear.

[Teleport: Magetower. On Target]

[Hazzardevil]

N'fen having just finished his spells when the spell is cast casts Inspirational boost as they arrive at the tower.

Inspirational Boost:
Raise your inspire courage bonus by one until you next use inspire courage.

He then takes a look around, if he can see the tower he looks up to see how high it goes.

[Mellhurst]

"Finally someone worth seeing this far east outside the lot of you..." Cognette jokes in a low tone as she reaches out for Gillivane's shoulder.

[BelGareth]

Gillivane starts to weave her magic, touching each one of you in turn her gentle touch ignites an amber glow at the point of origin. Slowly it spreads to encompass your whole body until all that is left is your head, watching you see it creep upwards and over your mouth.

You try to gag but nothing comes from within, even the reflex seems to fade as the amber energy washes over your eyes flooding your vision with a golden hue.

This all happens within seconds of being touched, too fast to react for even your body to do so.

And then your existences lurches from your spot, your essence like sand in the wind being pulled inexorably to another spot. It seems like your body is being stretched between to excruciatingly long distances.

And then you snap back to reality the amber wave of energy recording like a wave in a tidal pool. You stand before a Tower, not large by any means, but wide, it's girth perhaps more than its height.

Those of you who have traveled with teleportation before overcome your sensory overload much more quickly, but those who are new to it need a few seconds. perhaps even to emtpy the contents of ones stomach to rid yourself of the strange lurching feeling that would not leave.

A middle aged man with a cropped black goatee turns to regard you and smiles genuinely his arms held wide to encompass all of you, "Ah, guests! It has been too long!" he turns and hollers to someone "Gertrude! Awaken the rest, we have guests, wine and food at once!"

The tower resides between a large rock and the steady but eventual slope of a small mountain, trees dot the area and a dirt road leads away from it. It seemingly looks like a normal Holdfast, except that it was a tower, a short squat tower with a golden roof and alabaster stone.

[GuyFawkes]

Jessiah

Jesse looks around the surroundings immediately after they arrive, his eyes darting left and right, showing no signs of any lingering after effects of astral travel. He may not be adept with magic, but this would not be the first time he did this either.

His attention goes directly to the man who is coming towards them, assessing him for potential threat. When it looks as if he is welcoming them, he simply looks at him, then towards the tower, and stands there without saying a word.

[Mellhurst]

Cognette smiles at the sight of the well refined man while shaking off the damn sand and shouldering around to reorient herself then follows him at a rapid clip, eager to spot the lady of the house first.

[OMG PONIES]

Peacekeeper

During the night, Peacekeeper tinkers as it always does. Through the time traveling with the others, the warforged has learned to work quietly and in near-darkness so as not to rouse the softies. This night, the machine carefully forms small wooden planks inside a rounded steel band into a crude bucket; it had thought Gillivane's idea for a grog bucket was a stroke of genius. After completing the form, Peacekeeper affixes a crude strap that will allow the bucket to hang beneath the creature's mouth, leaving both hands free to handle the drink. It tries on the bucket, nods contentedly, and tucks the contraption into its pack.

Craft - (1d20+10)[16]

* * *

Peacekeeper holds its head as it materializes before the tower. The machine had always disliked magic of all sorts, and teleportation magic even moreso. For a device whose primary directive was riot control and defensive positioning, being moved with nary any effort or notice was quite unsettling. Peacekeeper takes a knee to regain its bearings, moaning from the ground: "Softies often talk of 'hangovers' and 'headaches.' Tell Peacekeeper, Gillivane, do those feel anything like teleportation?"

As the stranger approaches the party with glee, Peacekeeper steps forward and extends its hand for a friendly shake. "Hello, citizen," the machine barks in a greeting that the party had heard countless times before, "are you evil?"

[Mystral]

Rolling her eyes, Gillivane eyes her comrades while leaning on her staff. Having teleported for hundreds of times, with her first teleportation over a decade ago, she never quite understood why people felt the need to fall down and puke after the done deed. At least this time, nothing like that happened. "As I understand, the feeling is similiar, but less shortlived. I have been drunk, though, and am not prone to teleportation sickness, either. Why do people always feel so disoriented after a short trip trough the astral plane...?" Then, she Groans as she hears the usual greating. "I am quite sure they are not... I hope. Well met, stranger! We are here looking for the high mage Jureln Blackwood, whom we believe to reside in this tower. Are we correct in this assumption?" Not that she cared if they were evil, as long as these people helped them.

[BelGareth]

The man's eyes seem shocked at the warforged question his surprise turns from shock to a wicked grin in but a heart beat.

"Why yes, yes I am!" he hisses as his skin starts to stretch and rip, an enormous bloated body bursts from the skin, little wings flutter in the air as if to keep the immense body in the air.

Spoiler

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The skins falls to the floor with a plop and the Demon before you smiles as he reaches to the warforged striking at his metal skin.

Vs Flatfooted AC
Attack - (1d20+20)[29]
Damage - (2d8+7)[10]

Roll initiative

[Mystral]

"Oh, you got to be kiddding me..." Gillivane groans and takes a step back while concentrating on her magic, her mind feverishly racing to remember everything she can about this sort of demon.

(1d20+1)[5]

[Mellhurst]

Initiative: (1d20+7)[26]

[Hazzardevil]

Twin draws his axe, enters Child of Shadow Stance, moves towards the demon and strikes at the demon with the strike Lingering Flame, thus triggering the Black Fire ability.

Attack:
(1d20+14)[19]
Damage:
(1d28+6)[31]+(1d6)[5] flame damage
Crit Confirm:
(1d20+14)[28] (X3)

Child of Shadows:
During a round in which you move 10 ft or more you gain concealment for that round. You may not use this concealment to make hide checks.

Lingering Flame:
Your strike deals an additional 2d6 fire damage, and an additional 2d6 fire damage for the next 3 rounds.

Blackfire:
Expend one Bardic Music use when you use a desert wind strike while in a shadow hand stance. The target takes desert wind maneuver level/2 (rounded down) +1 con damage. In this case 3.

[BelGareth]

Top of round 1

{table=head]Character|Initiative
Vilac|26
Twin|19
Jessiah|14
Nalfeshnee|11
Peacekeeper|6
Gillivane|5
[/table]

BattleMap

Spoiler

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Who's Who

Spoiler

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Twin Death


Gillivane


Cognette


Jessiah


PeaceKeeper

Vilac you have initiative

[Mellhurst]

Following the butler closely and expecting nothing of the sort Cognette froze for a split moment as the demon transformed. Luckily he ignored her for the clever robot. It had been too long, she had brought a trinket but not even groomed herself for a proper discussion with the magelord. Vilac quickly summoned a shield and reached for her rod of empowerment.

Vilac's turn (when it comes around): Cast [Shield] (AC before/after 21/25).

~Is the demon vulnerable to charm monster?
Battle strategy - eliminate or extraction?~ she thinks loudly to Gillivane.